Blackbird Broken (The Witch King's Crown #2) - Keri Arthur Page 0,60
a brief mention of a ceremonial sword in one journal but no mention whether it was part of the prophecy or indeed held power of its own. The archivist is currently searching through our other archives to see if he can find anything else.”
“I take it he’ll call you if he finds it?”
He nodded. His gaze slid from my face to my breasts, and the desire in his eyes left me breathless and buzzing. “I don’t suppose you’d consider covering up?”
“Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.” He sighed. “You’re going to be the death of me, you know that, don’t you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Why’s that?”
“Don’t play innocent. It doesn’t suit you at all.”
I grinned. “Maybe not, but hey, you’re the one with all the rules and an unwillingness to risk that heart of yours.”
“I know.” He sighed again. It was a deep sound of frustration. “What if we come to a compromise? Will you stop flaunting your glorious body at every opportunity?”
I chuckled. Even I had to admit it was a decidedly evil sound. “It totally depends on the compromise.”
“We concentrate on finding the sword and stopping Darkside. No more teasing. No more kisses—”
“You kissed me, I seem to recall.”
“Yes, and will you just let me finish?”
I waved him on with a grand flourish.
“If we both survive the battles that are undoubtedly coming, then you and I start dating—and hopefully having mad passionate sex several times a day, at least—and we’ll see if this thing between us leads to something more serious.”
“What if it leads to being ‘bound,’ as you so charmingly put it earlier?”
The smile that twisted his lips was oddly self-deprecating. “The drive to Winchester did clear my head, but not in the manner I’d wished. It forced the conclusion that there would be far worse fates—”
“Oh, be still by giddy heart,” I cut in dryly.
“—than to go through life,” he continued, an odd sort of seriousness in his expression and eyes, “without ever exploring the full extent of what lies between us—not just physically but also emotionally.”
My heart did another of those odd flip-flops. For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe. I just stared at him, unwilling to believe—after everything he’d said, after all the heartbreak and the determination I’d felt in him when I’d so briefly shared his memories of the woman he’d loved and lost—that he’d so readily pushed them all aside and was now willing to explore a relationship with me.
Of course, there was the caveat of surviving the Darkside apocalypse first.
“Nothing to say?” His expression was warm and amused. “That has to be a first.”
“I’m just—” I stopped and shook my head. “Shocked by the fast turnaround, that’s all. I mean, even after that kiss yesterday, you were all ‘no way, no how.’”
“I won’t ever regret that kiss, but damn, I should have known it would only lead to the decimation of my ability to stand firm.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a romantic.”
“The romantic will make an appearance if and when we both survive. Do we have an agreement?”
“Yes. Do you want to seal it with a kiss?”
“No. Do you want to cover up?”
“You surely have more control than to be undone by the sight of a half-naked woman?”
“I thought so, until I met you.”
“You have to at least shake on it.”
He gave me a narrow-eyed gaze. “Only if you promise to behave.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’re both adults. We can do this.”
His raised eyebrow suggested he fully expected this to be another of my ploys. I smiled and held out a hand. He took it, and we shook.
“Deal done. There’s no backing out of it now.”
“There was no backing out of it almost from the minute we first met, up at the King’s Stone.” A wry smile touched his lips. “Tell me what happened yesterday.”
I tugged the blankets up. “Mo didn’t tell you?”
“Only in general, as I said.”
I quickly updated him on everything and was caught by surprise by the deep sympathy in his expression. “I’m so sorry, Gwen. While I’ve always suspected Max, I’d also always hoped I was wrong. For your sake, and for Mo’s.”
I swallowed heavily. “Thanks. I guess … I guess I just didn’t want to see what was blindingly obvious if I’d only sat down and thought about it.”
“No one ever wants to believe those they’re closest to could betray them, but it happens time and again.” He paused and interlaced his fingers. I suspected he was resisting the desire to reach out and hold me.